The Washington Post is reporting today, according to anonymous sources close to the NYC mayor, that Michael Bloomberg will decide on a 2008 presidential bid after the bulk of the primaries conclude early next year:

“If he felt that the candidates were likely to be such that it gave him the opportunity, he would do it,” the friend said. “It’s a long shot, but not 100 to 1.”

At No. 142 on the Forbes list of the word’s richest people, Bloomberg is worth at least $5.5 billion. He controls a private company that provides real-time financial data to money managers and others around the globe. And he has built a news-gathering organization that employs more than 1,000 reporters.

A generous philanthropist, Bloomberg has pledged to eventually give away his fortune and has constructed a building around the corner from his East 79th Street townhouse to provide the headquarters for his charitable foundation. Political observers say he has enough money to blanket the country with television ads for months if he becomes a candidate.

“He’d be a candidate almost in the progressive tradition,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a New York political consultant. “He could make the argument: ‘A pox on both their houses.’ He’s a celebrity by definition because he’s a billionaire.”